The debate about outlining vs. discovery writing keeps bugging me

I spent like 5 years thinking I had to outline every single chapter before I started writing anything. Then last month I tried just writing a short story without any plan and it came out way better than the novel I spent 3 months outlining in Nashville. So which is actually better for most writers? Has anyone else found their method was totally backwards?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_hugo20d ago

I read this one author's blog where she compared discovery writing to driving without a map at night with your headlights on - you can only see as far as the lights go, but you can still make the whole trip that way. For me, outlining always felt like I was trying to memorize the road before I even got in the car. Maybe it's just me but the short story thing clicked because you can hold the whole thing in your head at once, like a single scene you can walk around in. A novel, I mean that's a whole different beast where you need at least a few signposts or you'll end up in a ditch somewhere around chapter 15. So I think the real trick is figuring out how much map you personally need, not just copying what some famous author does.

the_charles21d ago

The thing is, discovery writing and outlining aren't really opposites like people make them out to be. Most successful writers do a bit of both, they just lean harder on one side. You might find that your short story worked because it was short, not because you skipped the plan. Longer projects usually need some kind of roadmap or you end up rewriting everything from scratch. I used to think I was a pure pantser until I hit chapter 12 of a novel and realized I had no idea where the plot was going. Now I do a loose outline, just a few bullet points per chapter, and that gives me room to discover stuff while still keeping me from getting lost.